Six teens accused in homeless man's death in court

EL CAJON (CNS) - Testimony got under way Monday in a preliminary hearing for six young people charged in the beating death of a 55-year-old homeless man in Santee.

Cassidy Rowin, 18, Sarah Baillie, 18, Tyler Dare, 19, Brian Kish, 19, Danny Swan III, 19, and Cheyenne Maloof, who was 16 when arrested and is being prosecuted as an adult, are charged with murder and assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury in the death of Stephen Lee Hissom.

Hissom and another homeless man, 49-year-old Edward Allen, were riding bikes on Nov. 29, along a path in the 9300 block of Mission Gorge Road, under a state Route 52 overpass, when they got into an argument with the defendants, according to prosecutors.

Allen was injured but declined medical attention at the scene, authorities said.

At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, Judge Herbert Exarhos will decide if enough evidence was presented for the defendants to stand trial. They face 29 years to life in prison if convicted, according to prosecutors.